McKINNEY — Accused of killing a McKinney man in 2015 after being paid by the man's wife and boyfriend, Ronald Rosser took the stand Monday in his capital murder trial to tell the jury about a number of other crimes.

Namely, that he ran a pot-growing operation out of his garage that was so successful, he wouldn't have needed to resort to murder-for-hire to pay his debts.

"I wasn't desperate for money," Rosser told the jury. An estimate that he made $60,000 to $70,000 annually from his marijuana business "would be very modest," he said.

Ronald Rosser

Rosser is charged with capital murder in the February 2015 shooting death of Richard Moore. Police say he was paid by Chansamorn Pokai, Moore's wife, and her boyfriend, Stephen Brockway, to kill Moore at his McKinney home.

Monday was the last day of testimony in the case. Closing arguments are scheduled for Tuesday morning.

Rosser’s testified about topics ranging from the ins and outs of his hydroponic marijuana business, the rifle he illegally helped customize for his girlfriend's son, and the multiple DWIs that made him a convicted felon.

It was all an attempt to convince the jury that although Rosser was a criminal, he wasn’t a hired gun.

"Ronnie, we're not going to beat around the bush," defense attorney Mitchell Nolte said when his client took the stand. "You're charged with capital murder."

Rosser said that on the day of the murder, he drove to McKinney from his home in Longview to sell Brockway two pounds of pot for $6,000. While prosecutors argue that Brockway withdrew the money to pay Rosser for killing Moore, Rosser said it was simply part of his cash-only business.

"It was for the marijuana," Rosser said. "I had nothing to do with the murder. I didn't even know the man."

Stephen Brockway

What's more, Rosser claimed that he and Brockway were looking to move his operation to Collin County and hoped to expand it. Brockway, Rosser claimed, suggested that Moore had contacts in Thailand who could help buy expensive LED grow lights at a cheap price.

That's how an envelope full of personal details about Moore and photographs ended up in Rosser's home, he said.

Rosser admitted passing a note to Brockway while in jail "just checking in." Prosecutors earlier said the note showed that the two men worked together.

"I have kept my mouth shut," he wrote, "they have nothing on us."

Again, Rosser said he was talking about the marijuana business, not the capital murder charge they both face.

"Typical example of something taken out of context," he testified. "We were friends."

Rosser said that when police originally questioned him at his home in East Texas, he thought someone had tipped them off about the marijuana operation and lied to cover it up. He claimed he did not know about the murder until police told him.

During cross-examination, prosecutor Thomas Ashworth argued that the jury will have to take Rosser's word that Brockway was part of his drug-selling enterprise.

"You lied to police over and over and over," Ashworth said, "but when it comes to these key pieces of evidence, you need the jury to believe you."

"Yes," Rosser said.

Chansamorn Pokai

(handout photo)

Rosser is a convicted felon after a series of DWI charges. After one incident, when he was 24, he testified that he was he was drunk when he crashed his vehicle into a fence. A fencepost punctured his face, causing him to lose an eye.

Because of the felony conviction, Rosser is not allowed to own firearms, but he admitted to owning a .22 rifle, a gift for his girlfriend's young son. Moore was killed with a .22 rifle, police say.

The boy enjoyed playing the video game “Call of Duty” and wanted his rifle customized with a pistol grip, scope, large magazine and noise or flash suppressor to look like the guns he used in the game, Rosser testified.

Rosser said he researched how to build a suppressor, which is why Google searches for "Texas gun shows," "how to build a 22 silencer youtube," and "how far will a 22 long rifle kill youtube," showed up on Rosser's phone, he said.

Jurors will hear closing arguments Tuesday morning, then begin deliberations. Brockway, 35, and Pokai, 37, are also charged with capital murder and will go to trial this spring.